Aiken County schools head to year-round calendar

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - School’s out for the summer in Aiken County.

For many parents and businesses, there’s another concern on the horizon- a shorter summer break since the district is going year-round for the next school year.

That means a higher turnaround for businesses that rely on teens this time of year.

We spoke to a parent and a business working on adjusting.

As the school bell rings one last time, a new challenge awaits.

“It’s a panic because it’s new to all of us,” said Tierra Calhoun, a mother.

Calhoun is talking about Aiken County’s new year-round school calendar.

“With the summer slides being a thing, I want to be able to keep them busy and not go crazy. With the new breaks that are coming up, I haven’t figured out what I’ll do. How will we get through,” said Calhoun.

After the shorter summer passes, there will be longer two-week breaks throughout the year.

“The struggle will be that we’ll be needing a sitter, I still have to go to work. You know, some parents, a lot of parents, still have to go to work. So as needing a sitter would be the biggest hassle for everyone, really,” said Calhoun.

But as for businesses scrambling to find workers, it seems a lot of businesses that hire high schoolers aren’t too concerned.

John Hyder, owner of South on Whiskey Events and Entertainment Venue, said: “There are ebbs and tides with all businesses. You just kind of adjust what you’re doing and move forward.”

Hyder’s putt-putt course has been in Aiken for more than 20 years.

He says change always comes with school employees, but he’s used to working around their ever-changing schedules.

“Some of it depends on what their school schedule is. When they start back to school, some of them will stay, you know, still do weekend work with us versus seven days a week. But you know, Aiken’s such a unique community that we’ve got some really great kids that go to school here. So just tapping into that is been a big asset for us,” said Hyder.

Because without kids out for the summer to work, those businesses are also slower without kids out for the summer to play.

Just another reminder for Aiken parents, kids go back in July and not August.

Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.